Institute’s building design inspires us to do technical and creative work, says Jyothsna Dhanalakshmi Sunkara

I have always had a keen interest in creative activities like Arts & Designing since a very young age. This gave birth to my dream of becoming an Architect. However, to pursue a career in a field that could hone my skills, I also needed to have sufficient knowledge of Maths and Physics as well. So I picked Science with PCM and Computer Science For Higher Secondary studies. After completing Class 12, there came the more challenging part of choosing the right college which would cut and polish the uncut diamond in me. To add to my luck, we had an architect in the family to guide me. My first cousin is an architect and she recommended me to take up specifically the Interior Architecture course, which made my job much easier to search for colleges which offered this course.

I looked up the internet for colleges across India and in Chennai and found some good options for the course. I had to shortlist the best institute on the basis of a few parameters such as, institute that imparts quality education, that focuses more on practical exposure that theory or that plays a vital role in alumni’s career. After a deep dive search on the internet, one institute I found that satisfied my demands was the Crescent School of Architecture (B.S.Abdur Rahman University). I visited the campus and looked at the infrastructure and that was the moment I decided to join CSA, to do my course in Interior Architecture, under the guidance and tutelage of expert faculty members.

After experiencing it practically for over a semester, I can proudly say that joining BDes, in Crescent School of Architecture was one of the wisest of decisions that my parents and I had taken in my whole life, with regards to the choice of an educational institution.

As a part of the admission process, the applicants need to mandatorily undergo NATA entrance exam which is an all-India Architecture and Design entrance exam. The admissions are offered on the basis of a composite score of Class 12 and NATA exam. To prepare well for the exam, I decided to undergo a training session and work hard as I could not afford to lose the opportunity of joining CSA.

During the training period, I applied and appeared in the entrance exams offered by BSAR Crescent School of Architecture (CSA), Chennai. I cracked the entrance exam and was offered admission to BDes. Of course, there were many challenges in context to creativity because what I knew as creativity earlier was totally different and while preparing for the exams, I understood what actual creativity was. And once I was in CSA, it was a total delight as it brought out the best in me. They know how to bring out the visions in our hearts and make real forms out of them.

There is an old saying of Confucius, “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”. That’s exactly what we are doing in college. We are enjoying every bit of our academic day. And especially when we are learning with likeminded people under the guidance of professors who understand every bit of what we think, there is never a dull day and there never would be work or project which would be tiring or boring.

About the time that we spend at college, we do all the technical and creative work. Do all the technical drawings, do models, create as many types of different designs as possible in the given creative space. I enjoy the time I spend in the workshops, the most. About the extracurricular activities, I’m specifically interested in model makings, etc. I would like to improvise my skills in product designing and material design in the forthcoming years of my course.

As a person, the college experience exposed me to higher levels of creativity and has improved my thoughts about the basic concept of creativity. My personality has enhanced and I feel more confident and independent today.

Since the lifestyle keeps evolving and people like to upgrade themselves, there is always scope for improvement in the field of creativity, I see the bright opportunity in various fields of designing. Upon successful completion of the programme, I aspire to pursue a Masters in the same domain to become an expert Architecture.

About the author

Jyothsna Dhanalakshmi Sunkara is a first-year student of BDes Programme at Crescent School of Architecture (B.S.Abdur Rahman University). She is passionate about drawing, painting and designing and possesses great creative skills.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha